16 Jun 2016 Community

Honley Solicitor goes Italian in support of Hospice’s Midnight Memory Walk

A local solicitor has pledged to complete the Midnight Memory Walk for Kirkwood Hospice - despite being thousands of miles away.

Julian Taylor, of Switalskis Solicitors in Honley, will be enjoying a short break in the small town of Collepasso, southern Italy as a record number of walkers come together for the tenth Midnight Memory Walk in aid of Kirkwood Hospice. But that hasn't stopped him from getting involved.

As the clock strikes midnight in the Italian countryside – an hour ahead of the gathered crowd in Huddersfield – Julian will set off on his own 10 mile passeggiata memoria.

Solicitor Julian has gone to great lengths to plan out his own route and has even roped in wife Pat to provide back up support in their rental car.

It will be more of a stroll through the olive branches than the pavements and dry stone wall of Huddersfield. And his rural surrounds mean he'll be relying more on his trusty torch than the local street lights.

Julian said: “It’s very flat terrain down in that region with lots of olive trees. I managed to plan a route that was exactly 16 kilometres.

“It’s slightly less than ten miles, so I will be walking to the bottom of the garden path and back again before I set off!”

Julian was keen to continue supporting Kirkwood and despite not being able to join his fellow walkers in person, he hopes to link up with them throughout the night via video-link.

He said: “We’ve supported Kirkwood for a long time in a number of ways, both as a business and personally. We often donate to the Hospice shop in Honley and also pop in to do a bit of shopping.

“I first did the Midnight Memory Walk in 2015 with the team at the law practice. We wanted to keep that tradition going. My colleague Kerry Stockbridge will be taking on the challenge back at home with her nine-year-old daughter Neve and their dog Bobo.

“I always intended to do the walk again this year but due to my bad planning, it fell on a weekend we were away. It’s only a short break and I’ll be back to work on Tuesday.”

Julian and Kerry have both received support already and are hoping to raise as much as possible to support the Hospice.

He said: “The firm has already agreed to sponsor me, as have lots of my family and friends. We have even had support from clients coming in for appointments. We’ve got a sponsor sheet in our reception on Westgate, Honley and any donations would be appreciated.”

If you would like to support Julian and Kerry in their fundraising efforts, you can donate at: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JulianTaylor5